Wales, August 2013

Ticked another thing off my bucket list.  Visiting Wales.  It would be fabulous to live close to this area and make full use of the walking and riding trails, however our little rental did a great job and kept us from complete exhaustion! We stayed in a small place out of the way frequented by bike enthusiasts, in the hills near Llandovery (pronounced Clandovery). Fabulous views over a beautiful valley that we were pleased to be able to see.  No rain or fog that is often prevalent. Our first place to visit was the Botanic Gardens.  They were wonderful, especially the building that looked like a flying saucer.  Then drove on to Llaugharne (Cloffarne), Dylan Thomas' town.  Next day, we drove to Tenby.  Almost at the end of the world!! But really worth a visit.  At high summer time it was hard to visualise it covered in snow in mid winter as pictures showed us, in a coffee shop run by .... Australians!!!  The coffee shop owner had just returned from a holiday in Melbourne. He claimed Melbourne is the coffee capital of the world, he had been inspired by a trip or two to the Auction Rooms in North Melbourne. 

Then followed the coast taking in some breathe taking views, to return to Wiltshire before flying to New York.

    "Home". Our accommodation in Wales. And below, the view from the patio.  Not bad!

The botanical gardens. No it's not a huge space ship in the distance, only the largest hothouse in the world.

 Llaugharne Castle in the town Dylan Thomas adopted and lived with his family and penned many of his now famous writings.

    Dylan Thomas' family home.  Remote, cold and probably very bleak in winter.

 This is his writing studio.  Situated on the wall above the house.  It overlooked the inlet and would have been a pretty inspirational place to write.

Tenby was our next stop. A view of the harbour at low tide.  There's a twelve metre tide here.

For all those who watch Kevin McLeod's "Grand Designs" you may have seen the episode where a couple bought the old boat clubhouse and did it up as a private residence.  All the support work below required replacing or reinforcing.  Large cranes & building supplies had to be brought across the sand when the tide was out. Contractors were often unaware of the short window they had to unload stuff and consequently got bogged in the soggy wet sand.  It was amazing to see the place unfold, even more amazing for us to come across it.  We didn't know it was here beforehand.

These are the buildings at the right hand end of the bay.  How great would it be going to church in that little building right on the shore.  Hard to concentrate with gulls squawking & waves lapping.

Along the drive to the coast we came across a loch with a very old wall, with water cascading over it.  We parked the car and walked along part of the walk that walkers can traverse in this area. Very beautiful.

       The view of the loch wall near the top.

Driving past the loch we passed through this country.  Picturesque in summer, imagine winter!

Lunch had us stop in a small village on the coast.  After a pub meal we wandered the pretty town.  The colours of the buildings were echoed like this throughout Wales. Quite stunning.

This ends our stay in Wiltshire & Wales and many thanks to our wonderful hosts, Ffion & Les.

On to New York!

Bye 'til next blog 

Robyn & Robert,

The Tourin'Travellers